Eugene de Mazenod throughout his life examined the situation with the eyes of faith and discovered in it how the Lord was calling him. That fact is obvious from the very beginning in his choice of the men who would help him to accomplish his mission. In the Preface to the Rules he wrote for his band of helpers, he said, “Did we not know that the sacred deposit of faith is to be preserved intact to the end of time we would hardly be able to recognize the religion of Christ . . . scattered about. . . “. The devastation of the Church in France after the Revolution was enormous, and it was only his deep faith and trust in God that gave Eugene the courage and vision to proceed. His letters of encouragement to the Oblates in Canada also witness to this deep faith. “One must leave something to Providence “, he wrote, and “never let yourself be beaten down by difficulties “.
The oft-quoted line from the Preface, ‘Leave nothing undared ‘, could not have been written without a deep faith. He was ready for everything and anything, because he trusted in God.
Reflection Questions
1. “Leave nothing undared….and leave something for Providence.” In other words, do all we can in any situation …and then wait for God to fill in any gaps for us. How can we train ourselves better to trust God to be the gap-filler in our lives? What happens to our trust when the gaps do not always get filled? Can we ask God what happened?
2. Consider a situation you are struggling with currently. What is something daring , which involves risk of failure, that can be tried? What is the something in this you will leave for Providence?
Br Joshua Nash OMI
Fr Christian Fini OMI
